5 Things You Should Know Before Starting a Food Business
The statistics on business failure rates are alarming. The stats on restaurants even more so.
As is, as many as 60% of restaurants don’t make it to their first anniversary. This figure jumps to 80% for five years.
As unsightly as these stats are, they should not steer you away from your passion for venturing into the food business.
If anything, having a checklist of things to have in place will go a long way in helping you strategize and create a lucrative business model.
Keen to learn the things that will help improve your chances of success? Here are some pointers.
- Research Is Key
To be profitable, you must maximize patronage.
For you to do this, you need to have an in-depth understanding of who your target market is.
A clear picture of who this is will steer your pricing decisions, décor, ambiance and location.
Look at their income levels, age, hobbies, lifestyle and so on.
Once you have this and can feed their needs, then you have higher chances of getting your restaurant at full-capacity more often than not.
- Wear Many Hats
As much as possible, try and have a good understanding of as many functions of your business as possible.
This helps you with hiring, supervision and leadership and means you have a temporary fill-in should any of these roles fall vacant unexpectedly.
Granted, it’s not always possible to get a firm handle on more than a handful of roles when also juggling the responsibilities of opening an eatery.
For starters, consider taking a bookkeeping course, leadership or an IT course.
- Create a Concept
People create deep connections with food and, by extension, dining experiences.
Creating a concept helps you zero in on your restaurant’s personality as well as how it differs from the completion.
To further clarify this, evaluate your reasons for starting the restaurant in the first place.
Are you looking to franchise? Do you want to serve certain foods you love, or will you approach it purely like an entrepreneur by serving what people want?
This stage should include creating a company culture. Think about what you want your eatery to be known for apart from food.
Is it superior customer service, is it a fun, easy time or even formal exclusive dining. Whatever it is, think about it in the initial stages as you plan on execution.
- Location Can Build Your Business-or Break it
Your location will impact business in almost as much the same way as will your menu.
If your location is ridden with competition, it is hard to find or has poor visibility, you might find yourself in a crunch.
When picking a location, think about your target audience and where they are easily found. Similarly, try to get an area with heavy foot traffic as this is your restaurant inform of many eyes.
The more people that know you exist, the higher the number of diners you will have on your tables.
Think about accessibility and parking as well.
- Automating is a Life Saver
A restaurant in Boston takes automation to the next level, where clients place orders through a digital kiosk. They can then watch a robot prepare and serve their meal with precision.
Clearly, this a bit extreme. Automating, in this case, means acquiring useful software to help you manage your operations seamlessly.
Some of the things you can automate are bookkeeping, inventory management and human resources.
Aside from getting you organized, automation creates records that help in decision-making. It also frees up your time to handle other aspects of your business.
Still Have the Stomach for It?
If you have the stomach for it, the restaurant business can be both exciting and lucrative.
The trick-if any-is to do your homework, start small and make incremental steps with time.